Need Help Translating my MRI into laymans terms-PLEASE HELF

[lovetambra]

I am a 44 yr old female, who fell in 2002 causing a neck injury.  I recently had an MRI again and it showed
c2-3 no disc herniation or stenosis. Mild facet arthropathy
c3-4 Right asymmetric ventral disc osteophyte complex contacts the right ventral spinal cord.  There is mild right neural foraminal narrowing. Uncovertebral ridging.
c4-5 Ventral disc osteophyte complex contacts the ventral spinal cord. Mild facet arthropathy. No disc herniation. No central canal stenosis or neural foraminal narrowing.
c5-6 Ventral disc osteophyte complex mild narrows the ventral CSF space. Unconvertebral ridging. Mild left neural foraminal narrowing. Mild facet arthropathy.
c6-7 Left asymmetric ventral disc osteophyte complex contours the left ventral margin of the spinal cord.  There is unconvertebral ridging. No neural foraminalo narrowing. Mild facet arthropathy.
c7-t1 No disc herniation or stenosis.
Impression: Multilevel intervertebral disc degenerative change with uncovertebral and facet arthropathy as detailed above. The greatest level of involvement is c6-7 where left asymmetric ventral disc osteophyte complex contours the ventral spinal cord without underlying spinal cord signal alteration.
The doctor I am seeing is a workers comp doc.  So I what this all means??
I have had headaches, neck pain, limited rom to neck esp turning my head right, bilat arm weakness, bilat shoulder pain and muscle spasms in shoulders and neck..  Help me.

[danirenee]

Good luck with everything.. Going up against the WC drs is not a bit of fun.. Have been dealing with mine for over 7 years.. at first was able to get the injections and some treatment, then they stopped paying for the meds, but would pay for the dr's visit, ONLY to not approve ANY of the things they suggested.. all the while my back and neck just gets worse and worse.. This was even with my lawyer fighting tooth and nail to try and get treatment covered.  We finally just had enough, could not even get a new MRI even with the first one showing disk protrusions, bulging, and a syrinx.  Went on my own to get a MRI, and wow.. I'm not a Dr or nurse by any means but I knew that it had gotten worse, just didn't know how much worse.  I hope to god that you do not have a ton of problems with WC, but even if they are being agreeable now you should retain a good attorney so that they do not try and push things away or let things slip thru the cracks and give you only min amount of care.. The attorney will make sure that things will get handled one way or another..

They did a few assessments on me for PPD (extent of permanent partial disability) and EVEN the WC dr said I was at something like 40% where the private dr said over 50%, it was settled at 47% permanently partially disabled, and EVEN THEN they would not approve treatment, or a new MRI!!! And all the treatments were for ALLOWED conditions.. so just BE INVOLVED as much as possible with your WC claim, and make sure you have a good attorney..

Sorry for the long response, just wanted to let you know a bit of what I have had to go thru and hopefully by explaining that, if I can help even one person not get pushed around by WC then it was worth it all.. GOOD LUCK and hope for a fast recovery!

[Kalvin]

You have a couple of different things going here.

The Facet joints: connect all of the vertebrae and allow coordinated movement of the vertebral column. Arthropathy simple refers to arthritis of these joints. The Unconvertebral joints: are at the lateral edge of the vertebral body and also help with flexion and extension. Arthritis in these joints is very common too. Most of the facet joint arthritis in this report is mild, (minor). Foraminal stenosis refers to narrowing of the area where the nerve roots emerge, usually by arthritis or a disc bulge, this can pinch the nerves and cause a lot pain, your findings with regard to this are mild.

A Disc osteophyte complex happens when soft disc tissue in between vertebrae begins to break down; the area can calcify, harden, and put pressure on bones. The condition most often affects cervical vertebrae in the neck and can lead to frequent headaches, neck stiffness, and weakness in the shoulders.

C 3-4 Right asymmetric ventral disc osteophyte complex contacts the right ventral spinal. One of these disc osteophyte complexes is touching your spinal cord at this level.

C-5 same thing at this level.

C5-6 Here you have a complex narrowing the CSF space, which is the outer area of the spinal canal, but it’s not touching the cord.

C6-7 Here a complex is contouring (pushing, changing path) of your cord.

The pressure these osteophyte complexes are causing on your cord is  likely causing all your symptoms. You need to see a Spine Specialist as soon as you can. Don’t let these W.C. people stonewall you, get an Attorney if you have too.


Take Care

[Punkinhead75]

Hi lovetambra,

Sorry you are hurt and that I can't help with MRI results.  When I had mine I had to look a lot of that stuff up in a dictionary to understand it.  Being how this a workers comp. case I suggest you make sure you get a lawyer. I've been through workers comp. and I was glad I had one.  Another suggestion is to have your own doctor look at some of this stuff to make sure you are getting proper treatment.  Since it is W.C.  your insurance probably won't cover your own personal doctor so you might have to pay out of pocket.  I never completely trusted the doctors that were working for the insurance company.  That's just me though.  I wish you the best!!!!